Refrigerator and door body thereof

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are a refrigerator and a door body thereof. The door body for the refrigerator comprises: a frame hinged to a refrigerator body or other door bodies of the refrigerator; an inner glass plate disposed in a hollow area of the frame; and an outer glass plate fixedly connected to an edge of the frame, having conductive particles, and configured to produce heat after being powered on to remove condensate water on the surface thereof. According to the solution of the present invention, the outer glass plate is powered on to produce heat so as to remove condensate water, thereby avoiding that the heat produced by an additional heating layer cannot be transferred to the outer glass plate. The present invention can effectively improve the condensate water removal effect.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the technical field of refrigerationand freezing, and in particular to a refrigerator and a door bodythereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the development of society and the continuous improvement ofpeople’s living standards, people’s pace of life is getting faster andfaster. As a result, people are increasingly willing to buy lots of foodand store the food in refrigerators. Therefore, refrigerators havebecome one of the indispensable household appliances in people’s dailylife.

To make sure that objects stored in refrigerators can be checkedconveniently, more and more refrigerator products with a door bodyprovided with a transparent area have emerged. A transparent area of anexisting refrigerator door body is generally double-layer glass orthree-layer glass, where the double-layer glass is generally applied towine cabinets with low requirements on temperature, no electric heatingis required, and no condensation occurs. The three-layer glass isgenerally applied to a refrigeration door body of a refrigerator, and isgenerally provided with a first layer, a second layer and a third layerfrom outside to inside, where the first layer is a decorative layer, thesecond layer is a heating layer, and the third layer is a heatinsulation layer. However, the heating layer is located in the middle.Therefore, when condensation occurs on the surface of the first layer,it is difficult to transfer the heat of the second layer to the firstlayer, and it is difficult to remove condensate water, which affects theuse experience of users.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

One purpose of the present invention is to improve a condensate waterremoval effect of a door body of a refrigerator.

A further purpose of the present invention is to remove condensate waterwith low energy consumption by cooperation of glass and a heating wire.

Particularly, the present invention provides a door body applied to arefrigerator, including: a frame configured to be hinged to arefrigerator body or another door body of the refrigerator; an innerglass plate disposed in a hollow area of the frame; and an outer glassplate fixedly connected to an edge of the frame, having conductiveparticles and configured to produce heat after powered on so as toremove condensate water on the surface of the outer glass plate.

Optionally, the door body applied to a refrigerator further includes awire leading layer coated on an inner side of the outer glass plate, andconfigured to be connected to a conductor so as to power on the outerglass plate.

Optionally, the door body applied to a refrigerator further includes adecorative layer disposed between the outer glass plate and the frame, ahollow area of the decorative layer being disposed corresponding to thehollow area of the frame.

Optionally, the wire leading layer matches with the decorative layer inpatterns so as to be integrated with the decorative layer.

Optionally, the wire leading layer is located at an inner edge of theouter glass plate, and the edge of the outer glass plate is wrapped toshield the wire leading layer.

Optionally, a foamed layer is disposed between the frame and the outerglass plate, a heating wire is pre-embedded in the foamed layer, and theheating wire is configured to produce heat in a controlled way to removecondensate water on the surface of the outer glass plate.

Optionally, when a humidity in a storage space of the refrigerator isgreater than a preset humidity threshold, the outer glass plate and theheating wire produce heat simultaneously.

Optionally, the door body applied to a refrigerator further includes aspacing bar disposed between the inner glass plate and the outer glassplate to insulate heat.

Optionally, a gas with a heat conductivity smaller than a presetconductivity threshold is filled between the inner glass plate and theouter glass plate.

In another aspect, the present invention further provides arefrigerator, including the door body according to any one of the abovedescriptions.

The door body applied to a refrigerator according to the presentinvention includes: a frame, configured to be hinged to a refrigeratorbody or another door body of the refrigerator; an inner glass plate,disposed in a hollow area of the frame; and an outer glass plate,fixedly connected to an edge of the frame, where the outer glass plateincludes conductive particles, and is configured to produce heat afterpowered on so as to remove condensate water on the surface of the outerglass plate. The condensate water can be removed by powering on theouter glass plate itself to produce heat, which avoids the problem thatheat generated by an additionally arranged heating layer cannot betransferred to the outer glass plate, and can effectively improve acondensate water removal effect.

Further, the door body applied to a refrigerator according to thepresent invention further includes a wire leading layer, coated on aninner side of the outer glass plate and configured to be connected to aconductor to power on the outer glass plate; and a decorative layer,disposed between the outer glass plate and the frame, where a hollowarea of the decorative layer is disposed corresponding to the hollowarea of the frame, and the wire leading layer matches with thedecorative layer in patterns so as to be integrated with the decorativelayer. Alternatively, the wire leading layer is located at an inner edgeof the outer glass plate, and the edge of the outer glass plate iswrapped to shield the wire leading layer. Through the above two ways,the wire leading layer can be prevented from being directly seen via theouter glass plate, thereby ensuring that the wire leading layer isconnected to a conductor so that the outer glass plate is powered on andthe aesthetics is guaranteed as well.

More further, according to the door body applied to a refrigerator inthe present invention, a foamed layer is disposed between the frame andthe outer glass plate, a heating wire is pre-embedded in the foamedlayer, and the heating wire is configured to produce heat in acontrolled way to remove condensate water on the surface of the outerglass plate. When a humidity in a storage space of the refrigerator isgreater than a preset humidity threshold, the outer glass plate and theheating wire produce heat simultaneously. The outer glass plate maycooperate with the heating wire to remove condensate water with lowenergy consumption, thus ensuring visuality of a transparent area of thedoor body and improving use experience of users.

Specific embodiments of the present invention are described below indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and persons skilledin the art can more clearly understand the above and other purposes,advantages and features of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some specific embodiments of the present invention are described belowin detail in an exemplary and unlimited way with reference to theaccompanying drawings. The same or similar components or parts areindicated by the same reference numerals in the drawings. Personsskilled in the art should understand that these drawings are notnecessarily drawn to scale. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a refrigerator according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a door body applied to arefrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the door body shown inFIG. 2 ; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic exploded view of the door body shown in FIG. 2 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following describes a refrigerator and a door body thereof accordingto embodiments of the present invention with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG.4 . The orientations or positional relationships indicated by “front”,“rear”, “up”, “down”, “top”, “bottom”, “inside”, “outside”,“transverse”, “longitudinal” and the like are based on the orientationsor positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. Suchterms are intended merely for the ease and brevity of description of thepresent invention without indicating or implying that the apparatuses orcomponents mentioned must have specified orientations or must beconstructed and manipulated in specified orientations, and thereforeshall not be construed as any limitation on the present invention.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a refrigerator, and adoor body of the refrigerator includes a transparent area forconveniently checking objects stored inside the refrigerator. FIG. 1 isa schematic structural diagram of a refrigerator 100 according to anembodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , therefrigerator 100 according to this embodiment may generally include arefrigerator body 110 and a door body 120.

A storage space may be defined inside the refrigerator body 110, and thestorage space is provided with a plurality of storage areas. The numberand structure of the storage space may be configured as required. FIG. 1shows a situation of four storage spaces that are sequentially disposedfrom top to bottom. The above spaces may be configured as arefrigeration space, a freezing space, a variable-temperature space or apreservation space according to different purposes. Each storage spacemay be divided into a plurality of storage areas by partition plates,inside which objects are stored by using shelves or drawers. In aspecific embodiment, the uppermost storage space in the refrigerator 100according to this embodiment may be a refrigeration space.

The door body 120 may be disposed at a front surface of the refrigeratorbody 110 to seal the storage space. The door body 120 may be disposedcorresponding to the storage space. That is, each storage spacecorresponds to one or more door bodies 120. The number of the storagespace, the number of the door body 120, and the function of the storagespace may be actually selected according to specific situations. Thedoor body 120 may be pivotally disposed at the front surface of therefrigerator body 110. In some refrigerators 100 that are provided withdouble-layer door bodies, the door body 120 with a transparent area mayalso serve as a secondary door of a door-in-door, that is, this doorbody 120 is disposed in front of the other door body.

In addition, the refrigerator 100 may further include a refrigerationsystem that is configured to provide cold energy for the storage space.Moreover, the refrigeration system may be a compression refrigerationsystem including components such as an evaporator, a fan, and acompressor. The refrigeration system provides different coolingcapacities for the refrigeration space and the freezing space, such thatthe refrigeration space and the freezing space have differenttemperatures inside. The temperature in the refrigeration space isgenerally between 2° C. and 10° C., preferably between 3° C. and 8° C.The temperature in the freezing space is generally between -22° C. and-14° C. Different types of foods should be stored at different optimalstorage temperatures, and also should be stored in different storagespaces. For example, fruit and vegetable foods are suitable for beingstored in a refrigeration space, while meat foods are suitable for beingstored in a freezing space. The door body 120 with a transparent areamay be applied to a refrigeration space.

After the door body 120 is opened or closed, cold and heat exchangebetween the interior of the storage space and an external environment isenhanced because there is a temperature difference between the interiorof the storage space and the external environment, increasing a risk ofcondensation on the surface of the door body 120. The door body 120applied to a refrigerator according to this embodiment can effectivelyimprove a condensate water removal effect. FIG. 2 is a schematicstructural diagram of a door body 120 applied to a refrigeratoraccording to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is alongitudinal cross-sectional view of the door body 120 shown in FIG. 2 .FIG. 4 is a schematic exploded view of the door body 120 shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 , the door body 120 applied to arefrigerator may include a frame 121, an inner glass plate 122, and anouter glass plate 123.

The frame 121 is configured to be hinged to the refrigerator body 110 oranother door body of the refrigerator 100. The inner glass plate 122 maybe disposed in a hollow area of the frame 121. The outer glass plate 123may be fixedly connected to an edge of the frame 121, includesconductive particles, and is configured to produce heat after powered onso as to remove condensate water on the surface of the outer glassplate. Actually, in a case that the door body 120 is closed, the outerglass plate 123 is located at one side facing the external environment,and the inner glass plate 122 is located at one side facing the storagespace. Preferably, the inner glass plate 122 may be made ofradiation-proof glass so as to enhance a heat insulation effect, forexample, the inner glass plate 122 may be made of low-emissivity glasssuch as single-silver glass, or double-silver glass. The outer glassplate 123 includes conductive particles. Specifically, before commonglass is cured, the surface of the glass may be spray-coated withconductive particles such as silver particles, such that the conductiveparticles are integrally formed with the glass after the glass is cured.The outer glass plate 123 is equivalent to a resistor with a largeresistance. As long as a positive electrode and a negative electrode areled out of the outer glass plate 123, the resistor produces heat afterpowered on, that is, the outer glass plate 123 produces heat.

The hollow area of the frame 121 actually defines a transparent area ofthe door body 120. A user can check objects stored in the storage spacevia the transparent area, realizing visuality of a storage situationinside the refrigerator 100. In addition, the door frame may be providedwith a reserved foaming space to implement foaming treatment between thedoor frame and the outer glass plate 123, thus enhancing a heatinsulation effect. A gas with a heat conductivity smaller than a presetconductivity threshold may be filled between the inner glass plate 122and the outer glass plate 123. Specifically, argon is filled between theinner glass plate 122 and the outer glass plate 123.

In a preferred embodiment, the door body 120 may further include a wireleading layer 124 and a decorative layer 125. The wire leading layer 124may be coated on an inner side of the outer glass plate 123, and isconfigured to be connected to a conductor so as to power on the outerglass plate 123. The decorative layer 125 may be disposed between theouter glass plate 123 and the frame 121, and a hollow area of thedecorative layer 125 is disposed corresponding to the hollow area of theframe 121. Generally, the decorative layer 125 may be an ink layer. Tolower the cost, a decoration process such as screen printing may beadopted. The wire leading layer 124 may be a conductive layer applied onthe inner side of the outer glass plate 123 in a brush coating way, forexample, the inner side of the outer glass plate 123 may be brush-coatedwith silver paste so as to be connected to a conductor.

The wire leading layer 124 can be seen via the outer glass plate 123,which affects the appearance. Therefore, the wire leading layer 124 maymatch with the decorative layer 125 in patterns so as to be integratedwith the decorative layer 125. In other words, the wire leading layer124 becomes a part of the patterns of the decorative layer 125. Inanother embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 , the wire leading layer 124 maybe located at an inner edge of the outer glass plate 123. Therefore, theedge of the outer glass plate 123 is wrapped to shield the wire leadinglayer 124. The wrapped edge may be disposed separately, or may beimplemented by the frame 121. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4 , the wireleading layer 124 may be located at edges of upper and lower ends of theinner side of the outer glass plate 123 so as to lead out a positiveelectrode and a negative electrode from upper and lower positions, suchthat the outer glass plate 123 becomes a resistor with a largeresistance.

As mentioned above, the door frame may be provided with a reservedfoaming space, a foamed layer may be disposed between the frame 121 andthe outer glass plate 123, a heating wire 126 may be pre-embedded in thefoamed layer, and the heating wire is configured to produce heat in acontrolled way so as to remove condensate water on the surface of theouter glass plate 123. It should be noted that when a humidity in astorage space of the refrigerator 100 is greater than a preset humiditythreshold, the outer glass plate 123 and the heating wire 126simultaneously produce heat to remove condensate water. When thehumidity in the storage space of the refrigerator 100 is smaller than orequal to the preset humidity threshold, one of the outer glass plate 123and the heating wire 126 is used to produce heat to remove condensatewater. In addition, a case of selecting one of the outer glass plate 123and the heating wire 126 may also be optimized according to an actualcondition of heat production of the outer glass plate 123 and theheating wire 126. Alternatively, a switch may be provided to controlheating start and heating stop of the outer glass plate 123 and theheating wire 126 respectively, and a user can make a choice as needed.

In a specific embodiment, the door body 120 may further include aspacing bar 127 disposed between the inner glass plate 122 and the outerglass plate 123 to insulate heat. The spacing bar 127 may effectivelyprevent heat produced during heating of the outer glass plate 123 and/orthe heating wire 126 from being transferred to the inner glass plate 122to affect a storage temperature of the storage space, therebyeffectively guaranteeing a storage effect. Preferably, the spacing bar127 may be a heat insulating sealing bar such as aluminum alloy and awarm edge spacer.

The door body 120 applied to a refrigerator according to this embodimentincludes: a frame 121, configured to be hinged to the refrigerator body110 or another door body of the refrigerator 100; an inner glass plate122, disposed in a hollow area of the frame 121; and an outer glassplate 123, fixedly connected to an edge of the frame 121, where theouter glass plate 123 includes conductive particles, and is configuredto produce heat after powered on so as to remove condensate water on thesurface of the outer glass plate 123. The condensate water can beremoved by powering on the outer glass plate 123 itself to produce heat,which avoids the problem that heat generated by an additionally arrangedheating layer cannot be transferred to the outer glass plate 123, andcan effectively improve a condensate water removal effect.

Further, the door body 120 applied to a refrigerator according to thisembodiment further includes a wire leading layer 124, coated on an innerside of the outer glass plate 123 and configured to be connected to aconductor to power on the outer glass plate 123; and a decorative layer125, disposed between the outer glass plate 123 and the frame 121, wherea hollow area of the decorative layer 125 is disposed corresponding tothe hollow area of the frame 121, and the wire leading layer 124 matcheswith the decorative layer 125 in patterns so as to be integrated withthe decorative layer 125. Alternatively, the wire leading layer 124 islocated at an inner edge of the outer glass plate 123, and the edge ofthe outer glass plate 123 is wrapped to shield the wire leading layer124. Through the above two ways, the wire leading layer 124 can beprevented from being directly seen via the outer glass plate 123,thereby ensuring that the wire leading layer 124 is connected to aconductor so that the outer glass plate 123 is powered on and theaesthetics is guaranteed as well.

More further, according to the door body 120 applied to a refrigeratorin this embodiment, a foamed layer is disposed between the frame 121 andthe outer glass plate 123, a heating wire 126 is pre-embedded in thefoamed layer, and the heating wire is configured to produce heat in acontrolled way so as to remove condensate water on the surface of theouter glass plate 123. When a humidity in a storage space of therefrigerator 100 is greater than a preset humidity threshold, the outerglass plate 123 and the heating wire 126 produce heat simultaneously.The outer glass plate 123 may cooperate with the heating wire 126 toremove condensate water with low energy consumption, thus ensuringvisuality of a transparent area of the door body 120 and improving useexperience of users.

In conclusion, it should be learned by those skilled in the art thatalthough various exemplary embodiments of the present invention havebeen illustrated and described in detail herein, many other variationsor modifications consistent with the principles of the present inventionmay be directly determined or derived from the disclosure of the presentinvention without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should beconstrued and considered as covering all these other variations ormodifications.

What is claimed is:
 1. A door body applied to a refrigerator,comprising: a frame, configured to be hinged to a refrigerator body oranother door body of the refrigerator; an inner glass plate, disposed ina hollow area of the frame; and an outer glass plate, fixedly connectedto an edge of the frame, having conductive particles, and configured toproduce heat after powered on so as to remove condensate water on thesurface of the outer glass plate.
 2. The door body applied to arefrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising: a wire leadinglayer, coated on an inner side of the outer glass plate, and configuredto be connected to a conductor so as to power on the outer glass plate.3. The door body applied to a refrigerator according to claim 2, furthercomprising: a decorative layer, disposed between the outer glass plateand the frame, a hollow area of the decorative layer being disposedcorresponding to the hollow area of the frame.
 4. The door body appliedto a refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the wire leading layermatches with the decorative layer in patterns so as to be integratedwith the decorative layer.
 5. The door body applied to a refrigeratoraccording to claim 2, wherein the wire leading layer is located at aninner edge of the outer glass plate, and the edge of the outer glassplate is wrapped to shield the wire leading layer.
 6. The door bodyapplied to a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a foamed layeris disposed between the frame and the outer glass plate, and a heatingwire is pre-embedded in the foamed layer, and the heating wire isconfigured to produce heat in a controlled way to remove condensatewater on the surface of the outer glass plate.
 7. The door body appliedto a refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein when a humidity in astorage space of the refrigerator is greater than a preset humiditythreshold, the outer glass plate and the heating wire produce heatsimultaneously.
 8. The door body applied to a refrigerator according toclaim 1, further comprising: a spacing bar disposed between the innerglass plate and the outer glass plate to insulate heat.
 9. The door bodyapplied to a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a gas with aheat conductivity smaller than a preset conductivity threshold is filledbetween the inner glass plate and the outer glass plate.
 10. Arefrigerator, comprising the door body according to claim 1.